I realize that I shouldn't write a book review until I finish the book, but I'm so excited about this one I can't wait! I'm on page 154 of The End of Overeating, Taking Control of The Insatiable American Appetite. OMG! Maybe Oprah doesn't have a self-love problem, maybe her brain has been rewired by the food industry!! Maybe she is a powerless against salt, sugar and fat because consuming them together actually alters neural pathways, triggering a powerful reward mechanism that reinforces consuming more and more and more.
I first heard of this book when somebody mentioned the awesome Washington Post article Crave Man (a must-read) in the comments section. David Kessler is a former FDA commissioner who took an interest in the soaring obesity rate and people's seeming inability to stop eating - even when they don't want to eat, even when their health is at risk, even when it makes them feel awful. Why is that? Is it really just a willpower thing or has their brain chemistry been altered by Monster Thickburgers and Double-Stuff Oreos?
I hate all of the animal studies mentioned in this book, but they're fascinating. Rats don't want their rat chow if eating it has made them sick on previous occasions, and they definitely don't want their rat chow if they have to cross an electric floor to get to it, or if they have to push a lever too many times in order for it to appear. Rats will run mazes, push levers, ride unicycles and fight cats to get to a Cheeto. There have been tests to determine how hard they're willing to work for various rewards. They won't do much for a regular healthy rat meal, but to obtain a salt/fat or sugar/fat combo, they will work their little rat feet off. They'll push a lever almost as many times for junk food as they will for cocaine.
David Kessler interviews food industry insiders about how they are deliberately manipulating our brains to want more food. They're working to create foods where there is no "point of diminishing return." The seventh, tenth or fifteenth bite is as good if not better than the first bite. There is no cue to stop. Even if some small part of your conscious mind doesn't want to finish the bag, your happy neurons are lighting up like a fireworks display and you're not stopping. You're the rat on the electric floor.
I have learned so many cool food industry terms from this book! Bliss point, eatertainment, premium treating, dynamic novelty, craveability and conditioned hypereating. That last one is the scariest of all. Conditioned hypereating. It's no accident that people are supersizing themselves. It's like the tobacco industry manipulating nicotine addiction. It's fascinating and freaky. I'll keep reading and let you know what he suggests we do about this.
On an unrelated note (or somewhat related note) lots of people asked for more details about the Lean Eating coaching program - what it is, what it costs, how it works. Here is a page with all of the details. Ok, back to my fat rat book! Stand by for a follow-up post. I have lots of questions and thoughts about this one. Remember I said that I quit eating Nacho Cheese Doritos because they have like five kinds of MSG in them? I switched to Tostitos because they only have three ingredients (corn, oil, salt). That lasted one week! At some point I decided I had to have the Doritos, that I didn't care if they killed me. There was just something about the flavor and the texture and the crunch... and now I realize that I am an electric rat!
I'll have to pick this one up.